Players and fans celebrated with hugs and high-fives in the Brown and Plofker Gym Tuesday, Dec. 5, as Emerson women’s basketball team got to .500 with a win over Lesley University. The final score was 93-54 as players spread the points—almost everyone who played scored.
“Everybody got a chance to get out there and get minutes,” said Head Coach Bill Gould. “The players worked hard and they deserved it.”
Sophomore guard Bri Frongillo led the team with 18 points, but first-year guard Kendra Dodd and senior guard Olivia Deslauriers also had double-digit outings. Senior forward Charlotte Levison led the Lions with eight rebounds while first-year forward/center Claire English tallied seven.
The first quarter started strong for the Lions as Dodd opened the game with a three-point shot. Lesley responded with a three-pointer of their own, but after that, it was all Emerson. The Lions went on a 19-2 scoring run. Lesley did get another basket, but senior forward Quinn O’Connor countered that with a layup of her own at the end of the quarter, making the score 24-7.
The second quarter again started strong as Deslauriers scored a three-point shot, but Lesley began to score, taking advantage of Emerson’s fouls and making three out of four free throws. Lesley and Emerson exchanged layups and jumpers for four minutes, but the last four-and-a-half minutes was all the Lions as the team scored 18 points. O’Connor ended the quarter with another layup placing Emerson up 60-22.
Coach Gould knew beforehand that Emerson had a high chance of winning this game, purposefully scheduling the match before some formidable opponents.
“I think we knew going in that it might not be the strongest opponent,” said Gould. “It was more about us playing well and preparing for other games.”
Things changed in the third quarter as Lesley chipped away at the Lions’ comfortable lead. Lesley gave the ball to their two star players, and it worked. Lesley’s Alexandra Kerley got 31 points over the entire game and Jordan Blair got 13. Several missed shots and turnovers didn’t help Emerson either, nor did three fouls that Lesley cashed in on. This was the only quarter in the game where Lesley outscored Emerson, which had 18 points to the Lions’ 14.
The fourth quarter had more back and forth, with neither team scoring more than four points at a time. Emerson continued their defensive woes from the third quarter as they gave up three more fouls and three more free throw points. They countered this time with three-point shots from senior guard Ava Salti and Dodd. Bushe, English, and first-year forward Taylor Arnold added layups to counter Lesley’s attacks. The final point scored was a free throw by Lesley and the game ended with an Emerson victory.
Despite dominating the first two quarters, Emerson slipped a little in the last two, a similar trend in previous games this season. This game was a learning experience for the team.
“This game helped us know what we have to work on tomorrow: boxing out and not letting our opponent box out,” Levison said.
Lesley had six fewer rebounds than Emerson—38 to 32—when they lost by 39.
Emerson players and coaches now focus on Thursday’s away game against Westfield State, a stronger opponent. Levison said the team needs to prepare more as this game wasn’t their best outing.
Gould echoed Levison’s assessment of Westfield State.
“Westfield State is a very unique team in how they play,” said Gould “They’re very up tempo, they take a million shots, they press all over the court. That game is going to be good to get us ready for conference play.”
The first fourteen games of this season are all against non-conference opponents to help prepare the team for more high-stakes conference games beginning in January. Following the trip to Westfield State, the Lions’ next home game is Thursday, Dec. 14, against Eastern Nazarene.